:17 - Barberton mayor Bill Judge called into the program Thursday to discuss some of the layoffs coming to the city and how they tried consolidate services to make ends meet.
11:30 - Break out the orange golf balls and Whitey’s chili, it’s time for the 29th annual Chili Open! Jim Redmond from the Akron Rotary and George Murphy, president of Wayne Homes, stopped by to talk about Saturday’s event.
15:58 - There have been rumors about a new automaker looking to occupy the now-former GM plant in Lordstown, but who will come in and when? WFMJ (and former WAKR) news anchor Lindsay McCoy is plugged in to what is happening in the Mahoning Valley area, and she talked to Ray about what she has heard.
23:40 - Classical music and football rarely go hand in hand, but they will on Saturday night at the Canton Symphony! Assistant conductor Matthew Jaroszewicz stopped by the studio to preview their performance of the classic Harold Lloyd silent film The Freshman.
30:27 - The American Red Cross’ Acts of Courage is happening Thursday March 7th at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn on West Market Street. Mary Williams from the Red Cross came in studio to promote the event.
34:02 - Today, if he was still alive, would have been Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday. Ray and Tony talked about Jackie’s life and legacy, and the impact his character and performance continues to have this day.

:17 - Barberton mayor Bill Judge called into the program Thursday to discuss some of the layoffs coming to the city and how they tried consolidate services to make ends meet.
11:30 - Break out the orange golf balls and Whitey’s chili, it’s time for the 29th annual Chili Open! Jim Redmond from the Akron Rotary and George Murphy, president of Wayne Homes, stopped by to talk about Saturday’s event.
15:58 - There have been rumors about a new automaker looking to occupy the now-former GM plant in Lordstown, but who will come in and when? WFMJ (and former WAKR) news anchor Lindsay McCoy is plugged in to what is happening in the Mahoning Valley area, and she talked to Ray about what she has heard.
23:40 - Classical music and football rarely go hand in hand, but they will on Saturday night at the Canton Symphony! Assistant conductor Matthew Jaroszewicz stopped by the studio to preview their performance of the classic Harold Lloyd silent film The Freshman.
30:27 - The American Red Cross’ Acts of Courage is happening Thursday March 7th at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn on West Market Street. Mary Williams from the Red Cross came in studio to promote the event.
34:02 - Today, if he was still alive, would have been Jackie Robinson’s 100th birthday. Ray and Tony talked about Jackie’s life and legacy, and the impact his character and performance continues to have this day.

:17 - The news of General Motors closing down regional plants has been tough, especially for folks near Lordstown, Ohio. Senator Sherrod Brown has made his feelings known on this subject, and has appealed to President Donald Trump to get
7:34 - The holidays are stressful enough. It’s worse when scammers are out to rip off consumers on the open market. Tim Dimoff from SACS Security and Consulting shared some tips on how to prevent these scams from occurring.
17:31 - Five burger patties, five hot dogs, five kielbasa, eight chicken strips, eight strips of bacon, cheese, lettuce, and tomato make up the seven-pound, $75 Gridiron Burger at Arizona Cardinals games. Tony thinks he can tackle.
31:42 - About 125,000 children under 18 in Ohio are uninsured. Why is that? Joan Alker from the Center for Children & Families explains.
36:16 - The holidays aren’t just stressful with the wallet or the big box store. It’s also a time when people reminisce over lost loves or family members, and the corresponding grief adds to the stress. Pat Reese from the House of the Lord is here to help.

:17 - The counties of Summit and Stark will collide Thursday night at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, as the Archbishop Hoban Knights take on the vaunted Massillon Tigers. Hoban head coach Tim Tyrrell previewed that matchup for the title.
5:50 - Speaking of championship weekend, Tim Stried from the OHSAA called in to go over the games and pass along information for folks heading to Canton, including why it’s being played on a Thursday.
18:16 - The Tuesday after Thanksgiving is called Giving Tuesday. Bishop Nelson Perez from the Diocese of Cleveland promoted We Give Catholic, a 24-hour crowdfunding program to help benefit 195 parishes, schools, and other areas.
22:23 - The biggest regional story of the week is the closing of the Lordstown General Motors plant. How will this affect the economy and jobs as a whole? Richard Peterson from Capital Financial explains.
32:58 - The Ohio State Buckeyes came off a convincing victory over Michigan last weekend, and are set to travel to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship. Paul Keels, the voice of the Buckeyes, went over their upcoming game against Northwestern, as well as the chances of them sneaking into the college football playoff.
41:16 - Another team that is surging is the Browns, with their 35-20 win over the Bengals on Sunday. Fred Greetham from the Orange & Brown Report discussed that contest, as well as the quarreling between camp Hue Jackson and camp Baker Mayfield.

The Lordstown General Motors plant will officially close its doors March first of next year, per WFMJ out of Youngstown.

The TV station's reporting that employees of the GM plant, that's been open since 1966, were notified of the closure date in a meeting this morning, right after a report that GM is closing it's Canadian plant.

Back in 2017, GM announced that it was cutting it's third shift at the Lordstown plant, which reduced the plant's staff by about 12-hundred employees. Back in April of this year, another 15-hundred employees were cut from the staff after they were told production would be cut down to one shift per day, leaving a little more than 14-hundred employees left on staff. In July, GM pointed to new tariffs on the auto industry as "detrimental" to their company.

Word from WFMJ is that the head of the UAW said that they will "keep fighting" to get keep that Lordstown plant up and running.

Meanwhile, there's been reaction from state, local, and federal leaders, including U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown from Ohio who released the following statement:

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown today blasted General Motors’ decision to lay off its final shift of workers and close its Lordstown plant in March of 2019. Earlier this year, GM announced plans to build the new Chevy Blazer in Mexico on the same day the company ended the second shift at a plant. GM received record tax breaks as a result of the GOP’s tax bill last year, and has eliminated jobs instead of using that tax windfall to invest in American workers.

“The workers at Lordstown are the best at what they do, and it’s clear once again that GM doesn’t respect them. Ohio taxpayers rescued GM, and it’s shameful that the company is now abandoning the Mahoning Valley and laying off workers right before the holidays. Even worse, the company reaped a massive tax break from last year’s GOP tax bill and failed to invest that money in American jobs, choosing to build its Blazer in Mexico,” said Brown. “GM owes the community answers on how the rest of the supply chain will be impacted and what consequences its disastrous decision will have on the Mahoning Valley and our state. My office stands ready to do everything we can to help these workers. This decision is corporate greed at its worst.”

GM has eliminated nearly 3,000 jobs at the plant over the last two years. After the GOP tax overhaul, GM is able to bring their $6.9 billion in overseas cash back to the U.S. at less than half of the tax rate the corporation would formerly have paid, and immediately deduct the cost of any new investments in plant and equipment. Despite these tax cuts and the company’s record revenues as reported in their 2016 SEC filing, GM is still moving forward with the Lordstown layoffs.

Brown has been a champion of workers at the GM plant. In April, when GM announced plans for layoffs in Lordstown, Brown wrote to GM CEO Mary Barra condemning the layoffs and urging GM to reverse its decision by using the tax windfall the company received from the recent tax cuts to invest in the Lordstown facility and its workers. Brown also took to the Senate floor to call on GM to invest in Ohio workers.

Brown has demanded answers from GM, arguing that Ohioans deserve answers as to why the Lordstown plant is cutting jobs despite having more cash on hand following the GOP tax cuts. Brown said GM cannot pocket billions of dollars in tax cuts and turn around and fire Ohio workers whose livelihoods depend on these jobs.

Brown has spoken with GM CEO Mary Barra and President Trump about the plant directly. Brown and Barra met in Brown’s office on June 5.

Earlier this year, Brown introduced his American Cars, American Jobs Act, as a way to support Ohio’s auto industry and keep auto jobs in America. Brown’s legislation would:

· Give customers a $3,500 discount when they buy cars made in America. This would cover all passenger vehicles made in Ohio and nearly 100 cars and trucks nationwide.